Thank you!

Submitted by: Dani Durepos

Great song Dave. Wish everybody saw it that way!

Up on the Rooftop

Submitted byDeanna Field

Dec. 18th, 2010 in Lower Onslow, NS we were having our annual Christmas baking day when the pagers in the house started going off. 911 call, my dad is the assistance chief of the Lower Onslow Fire Brigade and pride’s himself on being first to the hall for every call therefore he was off. My brother in law a newer member was off in a hurry as well. This was a medical call. A man who was shingling his roof on this icy winter’s day had fallen off and they called 911 to get him to the hospital. The fire brigade medical team swang into action, got him collared and boarded with the help of the paramedics and he was off to the hospital with sirens. Now, most would think that the “hero’s” job’s were done by not my dad. He saw an unfinished roof 7 days before xmas, with a guy that likely had a bummed up leg and would be unable to finish it. So, when I called an hour or two later to find out if he was coming home to try any of our baking he says, “Yup, just finished shingling this guys roof and I’ll be home soon!” Such a nice story that my dad would never tell and such a coincidence that Sons of Maxwell played last night at the Marigold Centre in Truro for me to enjoy and hear about this website!

Kingston, Ontario Firefighter

Submitted byTracy Killoran

I was a Volunteer Firefighter for 12 years, starting in 1995 until September 9th, 2007. That last day in Kingston I got a pager call to attend a call for help. On our way to the call I was in the fire truck and it went to a corner and it turned. The door beside me opened and since I was giving the back seats firefighters radios I didn’t see it open so I fell out of the truck and hit the road with me hand and head.

From that accident I got a brain injury and d-gloved my hand, the doctors told my family that I wasn’t going to make it and after that I couldn’t walk or talk. The Kingston doctors have helped me a lot for my recovery as I’m about 90% recovered. I’m a fighter so now I can walk and talk as I’m Kingston Miracle and I love my job as a firefighter to help and save people. I want to go back to the job so badly but we are not sure if I can make it there, I keep praying and hoping.

AIRCRAFT DOWN

Submitted by: George Snow

“Regional Dispatch to Zone 4, we have a report of a plane crash just off the runway at the Halifax International Airport. There are multiple fires burning. The aircraft is a 747, time out 4:01 (AM)

Those were the first words most Firefighters heard on the morning of October 14, 2004 as pagers confirmed an aircraft had crashed and was on fire.
First arriving personnel reported heavy fire as the aircraft had just been refueled with a total of 200,000 liters of jet fuel.
The massive 747-200 cargo plane barely cleared the fence surrounding the airport before crashing, and exploding, killing 7 crew members on board.
As the sun came up, and the smoke cleared, the devastation was evident in the stark light of day. Charred wreckage and razor sharp pieces of aircraft parts in the huge debris field.
Over 80 Firefighters and 20 pieces of apparatus responded to the call. Among them were two brothers on their first major incident, Dave and Don Carroll……Welcome to the Fire Service

A Hero at Only 16

Submitted by: Paula Stern

Last week, fires broke out in Israel. Over 20 fires were set The largest one was set by a careless young man who threw some hot coals into a forest and when he realized he’d started a fire, he ran and didn’t tell anyone. The fire burned for days, destroyed 5 million trees and tens of thousands of acres. Worst of all, it claimed the lives of 43 people. The youngest to die, was a 16-year-old boy, a volunteer in the fire department.

Our children often begin volunteering here in Israel at the age of 15. For the ambulance squads and for the fire departments. Young Elad Riven was only 16 years old. He saw the fire burning in the distance from his school and called his mother. She didn’t want him to go, but she knew there was no stopping him. She brought his equipment to the school and then drove him to meet the firefighters gathering from all over Israel to fight the worst fire in Israel’s history. Elad didn’t want to waste a minute – he dressed in the car as his mother drove.

The flames soared more than 50 meters into the sky; the temperature was unbearable. Elad arrived and jumped on the first fire truck. He didn’t follow procedure. He was young and dedicated.

It isn’t clear what happened – it seems that in the chaos, the unit he went with didn’t realize he was there. Only that night did his parents begin to worry when they hadn’t heard from him. They went looking for him; people hoped he was safe. The fire had moved so quickly to engulf so much.

They found his cellular phone and still they hoped. But after a short while, they found his body. Elad died fighting the fires that threatened so much of the places he loved.

His dedication will long be remembered. Elad was an only child, a dedicated student, much loved by so many.

May his memory be blessed.

My father is my hero

Submitted byPhilly Ricketts

My story tells of an event that took place many years ago. My father was a policeman in New York City when I was very young. He rarely talks about the experience, and he would never answer my questions about saving people’s lives or dangerous situations he was in. He retired from the police force when I was 5, after 20 years’ service. A little over a decade later, after numerous attempts to find out about his time as a policeman, I found some papers in a box in our garage. They included a report that my father had typed after an incident in 1975. He and his partner responded to a call stating that a convenience store was being robbed. My father went to the back, while the other officer stayed near the front of the store. One of the men robbing the store pulled out a gun when my father confronted him. My father also had his gun out, and there was a stand off near the cashier. The man robbing the store soon grabbed the person nearest to him, who happened to be a little girl of about 3, and he shouted at my father to drop his gun or he would shoot the girl. My father had told me that one of the most important rules he learned was that a policeman should never drop his gun. So it was with trepidation and a pounding heart that I continued reading, not knowing what had occurred. Would my father put his gun down and risk his own life and that of his partner? Or would be continue to tell the robber to put his gun down and risk the life of the little girl?

In the end, my father’s report said that he dropped his gun. The robber then clung onto the money he had taken from the till and ran out of the store with his accomplice. But on the way, he shot the other officer in the chest when he tried to stop him. After reading the report, I asked my father about it, and this time he did talk to me. I asked him why, if he was forbidden to put down his gun, he did. He said that when the robber grabbed the little girl, all he could think of was me, since I was about the same age at the time. He said that he just couldn’t risk the girl being killed as a result of refusing to put his own life in danger. He said he’d never be able to face the little girl’s parents if she died. Of course, it can be argued that my father risked the lives of all the people in the store, including his own and his partner’s, and that the robber could still have shot the little girl, which is probably why the rule for a policeman not to drop his gun was made. And he should have been disciplined for his actions, although he never told me if he was. But I can’t help thinking how brave my father was to make the split-second decision he did, despite the rule. As a mother myself now, I can fully understand his decision, and if I was the mother of a little girl facing the same situation, I would be forever grateful to anyone who did the same for me and my child. The robber wanted more than anything to get away, and as soon as my father put down his gun, the robber pushed the girl away and ran off. It was only when he was confronted at the door by another officer that he pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for that officer, he was on the receiving end of that shot. He spent a long time in hospital, and his recovery was very tough. But thankfully he survived. I believe that my father still feels responsible for the pain his partner suffered, and I often wonder if he wishes he’d done anything differently.

My hero is my father. He always has been, and I wish I was half as brave as he is. I felt compelled to tell this story not only as a small tribute to my father, but also to make others stop and think just how difficult it is to work as a first responder. Obviously, many of these brave men and women risk their lives to save others. But it’s more than that. In certain circumstances, every choice, no matter how small and no matter which job as a first responder it applies to, could have potentially life-changing consequences for the first responder as well as for those they seek to help, and those choices often have to be made without any time for reflection. Thank you to all first responders who not only care enough to do these kinds of jobs and who risk their lives for strangers, but who also inevitably open themselves up to feelings of guilt and ‘what ifs’ when things go wrong.

police officers are always on duty

Submitted bypenny Martin

It was on a Saturday night in 1993 my husband, myself and our friends were out at a local restaurant for the evening. It was about 1:00 am and the 4 of us decided to leave and go home. I was the driver, my husband Dave (who at the time was a police officer with the Timmins police now with the O.P.P.) was in the passenger seat, friends Murray and Shelley Mcgee (Murray also and still a Timmins police officer) were in the back seat.

I was driving up Airport Road when someone at the side of the road was waiving frantically to stop us. I didn’t see what was going on so I kept driving when me husband yelled “stop the car somethings wrong.” I pulled to the side and they said “someone is laying on the road.” When they starting walking towards her, they noticed what looked like water on the road running down, they quickly realized it was blood and screamed at me to call 911.

What we had actually come upon was a pedestrian and a motorcycle accident. When Dave and Murray approached the pedestrian it will easy to see that her leg had been severed below the knee and Dave, wearing his favorite Montreal canadian t-shirt quickly removed it and he and Murray administered a tornique to stop the bleeding. The doctors report on call that evening stated the “actions taken by Const. Martin and Const. Mcgee in regards to the injuries and the speed and manner in which they applied the tourniquet and first aid saved the life of the pedestrian as she would have bleed to death.” One stayed with her and the other helped the motorcycle victim he had a broken tibia and fibia.

When the ambulance arrived the 2 patients were so critical that Murray drove the ambulance and Dave helped the parmedics stablize the accident victims. After many hours at the hospital and several more at the office writing reports they were able to go home. They were both awared for their action and dedication a commendation for the “most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem signed by the president and the provincial commisioner, Ontario Counsel.

When Fighting Fires Isn’t Enough

Submitted by: Dave Xander

Jeff Lorson is the hero in my story. Jeff is a Lt. with the Orrville, Ohio Fire Department and has been a firefighter for over 35 years. I’m proud to say that I worked with Jeff in the late ’70s and early 80’s, but it is what he has accomplished since then that puts him in a class by himself. As firefighters, we often see people in need and wish there was more we could do to help. Jeff Lorson saw a need and took action. Twenty years ago, Jeff organized the first Orrville Fire Department food drive so that no family in the community would be without a special holiday meal. The effort has grown over the years and now serves over 200 families. Jeff’s enthusiasm is contagious and spills over to the community where people donate to fill the fireboots in local businesses and schools, or volunteer to help the firefighters deliver all of the food baskets. Recently, the Orrville Fire Department partnered with the Salvation Army so that the program could reach even more people. The Salvation Army is responsible for identify families in need and the Orrville Fire Department makes sure the need is filled.

Orrville is a “paid on call” department, so firefighters have regular jobs to support their families. In Jeff’s case, he also operates an auto detailing business on the side in addition to his full time job. Still, Jeff finds time to meet with the leaders of local businesses to solicit their support in the annual food drive. Jeff’s work was recognized in 2008 when he was named Orrville’s “Citizen of the Year.”

Firefighters like Jeff Lorson recognize that fighting fires is not enough. Jeff saw a need and rallied his fellow firefighters to support the cause. Jeff is the type of firefighter you want by your side battling a fire, but his passion is also a key to battling hunger in the community.